French singer Barbara Pravi, during her first rehearsal on stage at Ahoy Rotterdam (Netherlands), May 13, 2021. – EBU / Thomas Hanses
- Barbara Pravi performed her first rehearsal this Thursday afternoon on the stage of Ahoy Rotterdam (Netherlands) where the Eurovision final will be held.
- The singer’s scenography is close to that proposed on France 2 at the end of January in Eurovision France, you decide.
- After her stint, Barbara Pravi confirmed her favorite status by ranking at the top of bookmakers’ predictions. Does that put pressure on him? “I try to stay focused. If I think about where I am going to be classified, it’s over, ”replied the artist at a press conference.
From our special correspondent in Rotterdam (Netherlands)
Her rehearsal was one of the most anticipated of this Thursday, and she did not disappoint. At the end of the afternoon, Barbara Pravi took her first steps on the stage of Ahoy Rotterdam (Netherlands) where the Eurovision final will be held on May 22. While she is among the favorites of this edition, journalists and bloggers wondered if she would live up to this status.
When her face appeared on the press room screens, accompanied by the first notes of here, silence fell – with the exception of this colleague who, we do not know why, imagined that the moment was perfect to install a camera stand. And three minutes later, the applause rang out: Barbara Pravi had convinced.
A little earlier, only the Italians of Maneskin, had been entitled to such a sound reception after their first rehearsal. They had also gone to the top of the favorites, according to the bookmakers. But the Frenchwoman was quick to regain her place at the top. At the time of writing, his chances of winning are estimated at 21% (against 16% for the Transalpins) according to the Eurovision World site, relating the trends on the side of betting professionals.
“The very concept of Eurovision is a pressure”
Does that put pressure on him? He was asked the question at the following press conference: “I don’t think in those terms. I try to stay focused. If I think about where I’m going to be classified, it’s over, replied the singer. The very concept of Eurovision is a pressure. I try to constantly refocus on the message I want to convey with my song. “
Barbara Pravi also said that the scene seemed “huge” to her, that it was the biggest she had ever seen. And to illustrate his point with amusement: “In France, when I sing, the camera is close to me. There she is 30 meters away. “
Its scenography remains intimate, in line with the one she proposed during the tricolor selection, Eurovision France, you decide, at the end of January. If some effects have disappeared – the gaze appearing in close-up on a screen, the carpet of stars – others have been preserved and improved, such as his silhouette evaporating giving birth to a cloud of stars. stylized birds. At the end of the song, the lighting takes on a purplish tone and the steadycam returns to waltz around the artist who has refined his gestures throughout his performance.
“It’s haute couture”
The French representative will do a second rehearsal on the main stage on Saturday noon. By then, certain aspects of the scenography will have been reworked. “It’s haute couture. There are lots of details … We want perfection, it’s work in progress », Confides Alexandra Redde-Amiel, the head of delegation.
“My job is to sing as best I can”, resumes the singer, leaving it to the latter to manage the aesthetic aspect of this painting which is “all a question of lights”. Alexandra Redde-Amiel confirms: “We want to sublimate it. “What to hope that Barbara Pravi shines very high at the time of the results.